Jury finds Donald Trump liable in civil rape trial…

The jury seated in New York has found former President of the United States, Donald Trump, liable of sexual assault in a case involving writer, Jean E. Carroll.

The former Elle magazine columnist filed a defamation and battery suit against Trump last year, after a law took effect in New York that gave victims of sexual assault a one-year window to sue their alleged abusers decades after attacks may have occurred.

Testifying before the jury last week, Carroll described to jurors how an encounter with Trump in a Manhattan store quickly turned violent.

She said that after Trump playfully asked her for advice on buying a women’s lingerie gift, he “shoved” her against the wall of the dressing room.

Trump had vehemently denied the allegations via his social media platform, ‘Truth Social’, where he tagged Carroll’s claim, a “complete con job”, and the suit, “a made up scam”.

The nine-person jury reached a decision on Tuesday, finding Trump liable of sexual assault but not rape. He was also found liable for defamation, for calling her claims a “hoax”.

On the contrary, the jury ticked “yes”, when asked if she had proven “by a preponderance of the evidence” that Mr. Trump sexually abused her.

The jury also awarded Carroll $5 million in damages.